Alabama State's HoneyBeez plus-size dance team slays crowds

Since middle school, Quiana Reliford had wanted to attend a historically black college or university. But when the Kansas City, Kan., native found out that Alabama State University had a plus-size dance team - the adorably named HoneyBeez - she knew she'd found her school.

"I'd been dancing all my life, and I wanted to continue to do that," says Reliford, now a senior health information management major at ASU. "Lo and behold, thank God, there was an opening when I got to campus."

Reliford has been a member of the dance team for all four years of college. "The HoneyBeez drew me to ASU," she says.

Reliford is one of six current members of the dance team, which was founded by band director Dr. James Oliver. His goal at the time was "to do something different with the band," he says. A graduate of ASU himself, Oliver had returned to the university in 2000.

During those first few years at ASU, it broke his heart to see young women try out for the Stingettes dance line and not make it because of their size. "I would put them on the flag line, and you could see the disappointment in their faces that they couldn't dance."

He was hesitant to mix the larger girls with the Stingettes, he says, "because putting plus-size girls with smaller girls looks like you're making fun of them."

And so, in 2004, he decided to experiment with a dance line of plus-size girls. He started by asking five members of the band to be on the first HoneyBeez squad, which would do "club dancing and a little street dancing" during the Marching Hornet Band's halftime shows. He had created the first exclusively plus-size dance team.

"It was all about how I could assist them in doing something they wanted to do," Oliver says.

And then, one of the dancers demonstrated a cartwheel for him. "My eyes got big, my mouth dropped, and I decided the last note was going to be a cartwheel and a split."

The reaction to the HoneyBeez has been "phenomenal," says Oliver, adding that the group is admired and loved everywhere they perform. "They're sitting in those seats waiting to see the HoneyBeez," he says. "The response is so great."

In fact, all of the band's shows build to a finale by the HoneyBeez. "I decided to put the HoneyBeez at the very end of my show," Oliver says. "They will get a standing ovation every time they come off the field."

Oliver holds HoneyBeez auditions each April and August. As he sits in a nearly empty auditorium and watches the girls dance, he feels empathy for them. "My sister is plus-size," he says.

He hears the prospective dancers say, again and again, that they've been made fun of for their weight, or that they've auditioned for dance teams in the past and didn't make it because of their size. "That's what draws me to them," he says.

There's no minimum weight or size requirement, he says; instead, he's looking for healthy dancers with lots of energy, talent and "a look." "You have to fit the plus-size persona."

Over the past 13 years, the HoneyBeez have garnered a lot of attention during their performances. The buzz has continued this year. The girls were featured on "America's Got Talent" in August, and last week they traveled to New York City to tape an appearance on "Showtime at the Apollo," a talent showcase airing on Fox and hosted by Steve Harvey.

One of the team members, DeQuandra Elston, made her catwalk debut as a model for Torrid during Fashion Week in New York City in September.

One of Oliver's goals, he says, is to secure a spot on BET's "Black Girls Rock." "They have a powerful message. Nothing is going to stop these young ladies now," Oliver says.

Thanksgiving Day is the 94th Annual Turkey Day Classic for Alabama State, the homecoming game and final game of the team's football season.

"I'm working on the music now, and working on the show," says Oliver. "When you're performing for 60,000 people, you really want to bring it, bring your 'A' game. It was just awesome last year."

As for Quiana Reliford, she feels the last four years of her life were, literally, a godsend. "It's been everything I expected and more," she says of her experience with the HoneyBeez. "Being part of the band has taught me time management and perseverance." She couldn't do a front roll when she first made the team, she says, but she practiced until she got the hang of it.

"Our motto is 'bee' bold, 'bee' beautiful, 'bee' you," she says. As one of the Beez, Reliford proudly upholds that motto every day.

"If you could feel what I feel when I see these young ladies dancing," says Oliver. "You can see the happiness on their faces. I see all of that. This opportunity will last a lifetime."